Football shoe



July 17, 1928. 1,677,370

E. E. ROEWADE FOOTBALL SHOE Filed Oct. 25, 1926 I N VEN TOR.

fi; ATTORNEY.

- Patented Jul 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES v 1,677,370 PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD E. ROEWADE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB '10 WRIGHT & DITSON- VIC1OB 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS roormm. 51101:.

Application as October as, me. Berta! nojuaaao.

This invention relates to football shoes and is especially concerned with a shoe adapted to be used by kickers.

Shoes designed especially for drop and 5 placement kicking having a hard toe box or reinforcement, the end face of both the upper and the sole being square and sometimes merging so that a fiat 'uprightface is presented for contactvwith the football. In

such a shoe the toe box or stiffener is molded to a proximately the desired shape, the toe is re atively high, and the end and top faces of the toe merge on a prominent rounded line or edge.' It is very difficult to punt with such a shoe since the rounded toe tends strongl to deflect. the ball unless the foot and ba 1 meet in just the right relationship.

Punters, therefore, prefer the ordinary foot,

ball shoe which, although made with a box toe, does not have the peculiar shapeof a kickers shoe.

The present invention aims to devise a superior shoe for punting and one which, at the same time, will be fully as useful for drop and placement kicking as the prior shoes designed especially for this purpose. While the invention is especially concerned with the requirements ofa kicking shoe, it also aims to provide a shoe which will be suited to general football requirements and can be worn satisfactorily by both the backs and the linemen. 1

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe constructed in accordance with this invention' Fig. 2 is a front view of the toe portion of the shoe shown in Fig 1; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, vertical, crosssection through the toe portion of the shoe shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

According to the usual method of punting thetop of the toe, and perhaps a part of the instep, come in contact first with the football, the foot then swinging inwardly and upwardly past the ball and thus imparting to it the desired twist or spiral motion. I have found that, contrary to what might be expected, punters can obtain far better direction and control of a punt, andalso better average distance, with a soft toed shoe than with a toe having the usual hard box. Such a shoe, however, as ordinarily constructed, would be unsuited for drop or placement kicking, the toe only of the shoe striking the ball in making either of these kicks.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the shoe there shown is of the welt type and comprises an insole 2, vamp 3, welt 4, and outsole 5. The welt, insole and vamp are secured together by the usual inseam 6, while the outsole and welt are united by an outseam 7. The top of the toe portionof this shoe is devoid of a stiffener, and therefore is soft. In order to facilitate the kicking of field goals a stiffener 8, Fig. 3, is

used at the forward end of the toe, this stiffener, however, being very narrow so that its upper edge terminates approximately at the curve of the toe. This stiffener lies between the toe portion of the vamp 3 and a cap 9 which is secured to the vamp. The shoe shown is for aleft foot and it will be observed that the rearward edge of the cap -9 extends from approximately the inner corner of the top, across the vam to a point in the shank at the outer edge of the-shoe. In a right shoe the rearward edge of the cap would be inclined in the opposite direction but would bear the same general relationship to the inner and outer edges of the shoe.

The toe portion of the sole is-square, and the toe portion of the upper conforms in outline to the end of the sole. This part of the upper, however, is so shaped and the reinforcement\8 is so molded, that the toe,por-

tion of the upper presents a broad flat face for contact with a football, the end of the toe bein approximately in line with the flat face of t e square toed sole. In other words, the toe of the shoe is squared both vertically and horizontally so that it presents the broad blunt face which is desirable for either J dro or placement kicking.

xperlence has demonstrated that this shoe 1s fully as satisfactory for either drop or placement kicking as the hard molded box toes heretofore used. The fact that the upper part of the toe of the shoe is soft and devoid of a hard stifl'ener makes'the shoe do cidedly superior to former constructions for punting. The reason appears to be that the soft toe enables the player to get a certain feel of theball which is impossible in a shoe having a hard box toe. The plaer therefore can acquire with a reasona le amount of practice the ability to guide and direct the ball more accurately than otherwise would be possible.

When the upper of theshoe is made of the stock ordinaril used in football shoes, usually kangaroo, t ere is a stron tendency for the up er leather to wrinkle adly over the outer side of the foot, but this tendency is effectively overcome by using the cap' 9 which preferably is made of the same material as the upper.

Because of the difliculty in punting and kicking-field goals with the same shoe, it has usually been customary not to call on the unter for dro or placement kicks, and this not often has en a handicap both in planning the strategy of a game and also in the execution of the plays. That it, if a single player can be relied upon either to kick field goals or to punt, he carries an additional threat which is valuable. If two or more backs have this same abilit then the threat is increased and their usefu ness in the stratadvantage in the game. An additional advantage resides in the fact that the punter both can control the direction of the ball more accurately and can also feel more confidence in givlng to the ball the twist or spiral motion which is effective in securing I 1. A kicking shoe having a squaretoed sole, a stiffener reinforcing the upper at the end only of the toe, the top of the toe portion of the shoe being soft, said reinforced end of the toe portion of the upper following the contour of the toe part of the sole, and a cap covering the portionsof the upper at the toe and the outer side of the foot subtantially to the shank.

2. A kicking shoe havin a square toe, a stiffener reinforcing the en portion only of the upper of the shoe at the toe, the top of the toe portion of the shoe being soft and unstifi'ened, and a cap covering the toe and a portion of the vamp along the outer side of the shoe,the rearward edge of said cap extending from approximately the inner toe corner, across the vamp, to the shank at the outer edge of the shoe.

EDWARD E. ROEWADE. 

